Representing donald trump she occasionally had to tell white lies. Was a subpoena ever issued for her . No. We will come back as a class and continue on. Good morning. Welcome to your new day. Alisyn is back in parkland, florida this morning. It is a big day as the kids go back to school. Cnn has learned special counsel bob muellers team is investigating President Trumps business dealings with russia prior to the 2016 campaign. Also chief of staff john kelly downgrading Jared Kushners security clearance. At least four countries discussed ways to manipulate kushner by taking advantage of his lack of experience, financial troubles, and intricate business arrangements. Hope hicks admitted telling white lies for the president. Alisyn . Chris, listen, its very active right here. We are 40 minutes away from class starting. All sorts of things are happening on the ground outside Marjory Stoneman douglas. We watch as a line of cars of teachers and Staff Members just stretched for blocks coming into this school for the first time in two weeks. That was poignant. We watched all the Police Officers from all the neighboring towns from hollywood, florida, broward county. We have pembroke pines. A huge show of force. What i wasnt expecting, and i dont know why, an emotional moment when we watched the school buses start arriving with kids sitting in there, you know, coming back to their beloved high school which of course for the past two weeks has been a crime scene. Down the road, this is where the memorial was. Mementos put up on a wire fence. There is a huge show of strength of students and Police Officers that have gathered together down the street in front of that memorial to remember all of their friends. So it is just a very emotional morning, as you can imagine. And throughout the morning we will be here talking to students and their parents about whether or not they feel prepared to be back and what they will do to further the National Debate over gun violence. We will talk to the students you have gotten to know best in how they are feeling today. There is a lot to cover this hour as we are here in parkland, florida. An important place to be. You have the struggle of getting things back to normal. And their hopes for a change and to see what will be different. That is an unanswered question at this point. Youre in the right on the right day. Well be back with you in a second. Lets begin with Cnns Abby Phillip live at the white house. We have not seen this much news in a long time. Thats right. A lot of on new developments overnight as it relates to the president s soninlaw Jared Kushner and this probe. Special counsel is looking into issues beyond the 2016 campaign, including the ways that russia could have influenced mr. Trump at the time before he started running for president , when he was thinking about running in 2016. Multiple sources tell cnn that investigators pore special Counsel Robert Mueller have been asking witness back seat mr. Trumps business dealings in russia, before the 2016 campaign as he considered a run for the presidency. I have no deals there. I dont know anything. I have no investments in russia, none whatsoever. Reporter questions from investigators include the timing of mr. Trumps decision to run for president , any potentially compromising information the russians may have had about him, and why efforts to brand a trump tower in moscow fell through. Muellers team also focusing on the financing of the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in moscow. If mueller was looking at your finances and your familys finances, unrelated to russia . Would that be a breach of what his actual the russia probe gaining steam as his soninlaw and Senior AdviserJared Kushner remains uncertain. The Washington Post reporting that foreign officials from at least four countries have discussed ways to manipulate kushner by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties, and lack of Foreign Policy experience. The post also reporting that white house officials were concerned kushner was naive and being tricked in conversations with foreign leaders. Jared kushner was also having his own conversations with foreign officials and people in other countries and was not reporting those in the normal channels to white house officials. Reporter the story came hours after his top secret clearance was downgraded after months of delays in his background check. For him to be carrying forward an important peace plan at the same time he lacks a top security clearance, i dont think thats workable. He is a valued member of the team, and he will continue to do the important work hes been doing since he started in the administration. Reporter one of trumps closest aides, hope hicks, also under scrutiny. A source tells cnn that hicks admitted during eight hours of testimony before a house panel that she has had to tell white lies for the president but says she has not lied about substantive issues. Committee members say hicks would not answer questions about her time in the white house or her role in drafting a misleading statement about donald trump jr. s 2016 meeting with russians promising dirt on hillary clinton. Democrats demanding more transparency. Anyone that doesnt answer questions. This is not exact privilege. This is not executive privilege. This is executive stonewalling. Reporter the debate on guns is going on. The white house says the president still wants to do that. He still thinks it should be 21. But we clearly know that the nra is opposed to that idea. We are also learning this week President Trump is supposed to be unveiling some new School Security measures this week before he leaves for Billy Grahams funeral friday, alisyn. Okay, abby, thank you for that update. It will be interesting to see where the president lands on this policy. At this hour, there is a lot of activity here at parkland high school. The sidewalks are filling up with students who are returning to Marjory Stoneman douglas for the first time. I dont know if you can see. There are school buses filled with kids who are coming back to their school two weeks after this massacre. Reporter alisyn, you were talking earlier how seeing school buses made you emotional. You werent expecting that. Ive been watching hundreds of Police Officers come in, some of which are walking arm in arm with the students here. They wanted to feel protected. One of the biggest things talking to kids last night, they were anxious. They were nervous about coming back to school. Some of them said were the safest place in florida. But they felt like they were still entering a crime scene. It is the job of the educators, teachers, the superintendent, to make sure they feel like theyre in a school is and not a crime scene. They are starting in the classroom that they were in when that shooting happened, which is difficult. And a lot of them have expressed apprehension about going back to that. And they did that because they thought psychologically it was important to reset the clock from there. They wanted to reset the clock. They wanted a chance to go back and be with those people they were with. This is a point of trauma in their life. They want to make sure they can be with the individuals they were with at that time. They can spend that time grieving. A lot of them say they dont really know what to expect, teachers and students. Theres no playbook for this. There shouldnt be a playbook for this. We will take it as it comes along every single day. How do you comprehend the loss. How do you return to normalcy after that . Normalcy, thats a word you try to figure out what does that mean here in parkland and coral springs. Just in the moments we were here, a lot of them have dyed their hair blonde in honor of joaquin oliver, who was killed in the shooting. Most are wearing shirts with the names of the 17 victims on their backs that they have made in the last two weeks. They are working on trying to heal. This is the first big step coming back together and figuring out what normalcy is. They have a new normal that has been forced on them. They didnt want a new normal. How are teachers preparing to help the students . Are they going to say to students when they all go back to the site of this shooting and what will be done to help the students emotionally recover and to keep them safe and keep them feeling safe . Joining us is the school superintendent. Thank you so much for being here. Youre about to go into this school and see all the students en masse for the first time. What are you going to say to them . Im going to welcome them back, tell them we love them, were there for them and were going to provide as much comfort and support as possible. We have flexible half days today, tomorrow, and friday. Were going to do whatever it takes so as a family that we can actually work through the healing process as best we can. The place for us to be is together back having some sense of normalcy. As a group, as a family, i think we can go through it. We will never forget this. It is a very traumatic situation that will take a long time to try to get through it. But we have to do it together. What is the thinking of having the kids go back to the classes they were in the moment the shooting started . Theyre not going back in the classrooms. Right. But going back to the moment. Thats part of the on healing process, trying to reconcile with that tragedy. That is something we have to face eventually. Again, were going to provide as much support as we can as they go through that. We understand it is extremely difficult for our kids today. If they go and feel too overwhelmed, what happens to them . We will make sure they have grief counselors and whatever support they need. If they dont want to stay for the day, we will make arrangements for them to go wherever they need to, if they need to go back home. We are ready for our kids. We have had a couple days to prepare and help the faculty get acclimated and deal with their challenges. We believe our kids are ready. Students are excited. As a family, theyre going to pull through it. Our kids are strong. Marjory Stoneman Douglas is enormously proupbd of them. We have seen them take the stage in the midst of their grief and pain. They figure out ways to turn it into something positive. I believe they will do that starting today. Kids are being handed white roses. Some are going in with white ribbons to remember their friends who were lost. Is there such a thing as kids who wont be able to come back to high school here . Sure. If any students believes they cant come back, we will provide a reassignment to another school in the district. We havent had many requests for that. They want to be together. We want to make sure that happens. The last time we saw you you were at the townhall. A lot of information has come out about the Police Response here, what lawmakers plan to do. Because there is a handful of folks, there have been allegations about their response. I dont want to characterize our Law Enforcement personnel. What i saw on that day was an unbelievable level of response from First Responders and Law Enforcement on site, folks running in and out of the building, not realizing the shooter was still in there or not, trying to save lives. That went on. We need to acknowledge the courage and bravery of our administrators. A i couple of them lost their lives to protect kids. They didnt have firearms with them. That is what i would expect from any Law Enforcement personnel that would be on our campuses, they would do whatever it takes to protect our kids. So we will see what happens with the investigation that has been initiated by the government and the state. Very quickly, one of the things lawmakers are considering is having ten teachers firearms trained. Are you in favor of that . No, im not in favor of that. Why not add another ten Law Enforcement on campus . We should be finding Law Enforcement people, not arming our teachers. They have enough of a burden on their plate trying to deal with everything that they have to succeed in an instructional day. They made many sacrifices of their own. We need to arm them with greater compensation, better benefits, and working conditions. Thats what we need to look at, not putting guns on their hips. Money in their pockets is what they need. Mr. Runcie, thank you for talking with us now and back then. Well be talking to you. Thanks so much. So, listen, in the two weeks stkeupbs the tragic shooting, some of the survivors have become, as we know, these influential voices, these activated voices. These teenagers didnt think they were going to turn into a movement. But they have turned into a movement. They have ignited this entire National Conversation about gun violence and gun control and what they want to see happen. As we watch these kids go back in the school. These are live pictures youre looking at. They are being handed white roses. Some of them are wearing white ribbons. Some are wearing nsd strong tshirts. That is the message we have heard from so many wearing maroon and white School Colors. They are showing their strength and solidarity in coming back together. The question is what happens now that they return to class. And what happens with their movement . So we are joined by two of the shooting survivors and now gun control advocates. We have david hogg and his sister lauren hogg. Great to see you. Thank you for being here. David, you were the First Student that we talked to in the hours after this massacre. And everybody remembers it. Because you sort of gripped the nations attention because you were so clear headed. What are you feeling . Paul ryan wants to see more teachers be armed, along with the republican party. They want to sell more guns. Work on behalf of the people that own them, nra, multiple special interest groups. They want to scare more people, get more guns sold to get reelected. They want to scare the people. We dont want to see that happen. The thing that makes me the most mad, even after two weeks of all of this, not a single bill has been passed at the state or federal level. None of our glass is being replaced with bulletproof glass. None of our locks that are being replaced are able to be locked from the inside. There are just more chances for things to go wrong. What about a student like me. What if i was miss identified. What if there is a blue on had blue situation where we had a scenario thought they saw a School Shooter and as such they started shooting at each other and slaughtered everything behind. The only change is we have more guns. All sorts of scenarios. Because you lived through this you have had to contemplate. How are you getting the strength to go in today . I have to because our politicians are cowards marco rubio, rick scott, donald trump. They wont stand up to the nra and rip off their shock collar. All of that said, your state legislature does appear to be doing some things. There proposals. They appear to be moving forward of raising the age limit and as you know, they also are considering training teachers. Thats just a compromise for the gops politics. Why . What do you want to see . What would be action to you . Raising the federal age of gun ownership and possession to the age of 21, banning all bump stocks, making sure that we have a universal background check, making sure people who are committed of acts of Domestic Violence arent able to get a gun. And making sure people who have history of Mental Illness arent able to obtain weapons of mass destructi destruction. Isnt your state legislature doing that . I think the fact that i have had to threaten the entire state of florida is a testament to how disgusting the state of politics has become. Do you see action . Some. I see some action and that gives me some hope. But at this point seeing everything thats going on is giving me hope. Thats why im here today. If that bill is not on the house floor at the Florida State level, i wouldnt be here today. I wouldnt feel safe coming to school. Honestly, i dont. We dont have bulletproof glass. We just have more guns. Lauren, how are you feeling . It is surreal. To be quite frank, im scared at this point. What are you afraid of . Going back into my classes and seeing empty chairs where my friends once sat. Not being able to talk to them before class. And i am scared at this moment. Are you a freshman . Yes, i am. Your freshman year, you have had to endure this unthinkable tragedy that adults cant even imagine. So how have you prepared for this . All i can do, ive been thinking about to have done. Thinking about my tpreupbgfrien thats where i get my strength. There is a reason i made it out that day and that reason has to be to make change. And what do you want to see happen . Exactly what david said. I want stricter gun control. Im a firm supporter of the second amendment. I just dont think people should have access to guns of that caliber. What good are they for . The other thing i want to point out is the legislation i was talking about earlier, rick scott trying to implement it a year later so he can have that happen right around his election. He cant let that happen. We cannot let that happen. I know he is saying it takes time. It doesnt. Hes governor. We saw his response to hurricane irma. He cares more about his political agenda. David, lauren, thank you both very much. We know what these two weeks have been like for you. We appreciate you coming and sharing all of your very strong thoughts. Obviously well be following everything that you both do. Best of luck today. Thank you both. All right, chris, these are two of the students well be talking to. Well talk to a girl coming up who cant good back into school. What is she going to do . Very understandable, alisyn. There is no judging how somebody can respon